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「戦意の在処（ありか）」 (Seni no Arika (Arika))
“The Will to Fight”
Unlike the episode that featured Kotomine and his somewhat long and dry explanation about the Holy Grail War, I thought that this episode was a much better example of how you’re supposed to tell a story without making it feel like your bombarding us with dialogue.
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「巨人の王」 (Kyojin no Ou)
“King of Giants”
Continuing off of last week’s momentum, the story continues to dive deeper as it makes us wonder just how intricate a MMORPG can really be.
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「初戦」 (Shosen)
“First Battle”
After an episode full of dialogue, this week’s ramped things back up with an intense fight between two of the strongest servants duking it out one-on-one.
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「湖の女王」 (Mizuumi no Jyouu)
“Queen of the Lake”
As much as I enjoyed the GGO arc, the start of this arc and how this first episode played out was exactly what I expected wanted from a second season of SAO.
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「開幕の刻」 (Kaimaku no Koku)
“The Curtain Goes Up”
After two amazing prologue episodes that established the world we’re about to dive into, this third episode scaled things back a bit and focused on some of the finer points about this “Holy Grail War”.
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「冬の日、運命の夜」 (Fuyu no Hi, Unmei no Yoru)
“Winter Days, A Fateful Night”
TRACE ON!
** No SAO Post this week since it’s a complete recap episode **
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「『異変』アルファ・エピソード」 ((Ihen) Arufa Episoodo)
“(Unusual Phenomenon) Alpha Episode”
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were an innocent high school kid who suddenly and inexplicably gained supernatural powers? Well if you haven’t don’t worry — Studio Trigger did all the work for you!
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「小さな一歩」 (Chiisanaa Ippo)
“Small Steps”
Leaping straight back into the action, this week’s episode started with a fitting fight to close out all of Death Gun’s antics.
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「プロローグ」 (Puroroogu)
“Prologue”
For everyone who was concerned that this take on the Unlimited Blade Works route would leave newer viewers in the dust, we were given an amazing double length prologue episode to get everyone up to speed.
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「ラブ&エロス フォー オール / ナイトメア ビフォア カルナバル」 (Rabu & Erosu Foo Ooru / Naitomea Bifoa Karunabaru)
“Love & Ero For All / Nightmare Before Carnival”
After previewing the show for the Season Preview and having a good idea what this first episode would cover, I can’t believe how much of a positive effect the transition to an anime had on this show.